Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Words You Don't Want To See: Asteroid Edition

What the...?
From SpaceWeather:

ASTEROID FLYBY (UPDATED):

Newly discovered asteroid 2016 RB1 flew past Earth on Sept 7th,
only 25,000 miles above our planet's south pole. Because of the
asteroid's southern trajectory, it did not pass within the orbits of
any communication or weather satellites--but it was close.
Researchers say the space rock is 25 to 50 ft in diameter, or about
the size of a grey whale. According to orbital elements published by
NASA, 2016 RB1 will pass the Moon on Sept. 8th at a distance of approximately 179,000 miles--a rare double flyby....MORE